Flyers' next challenge, an angry St. Louis team

Philadelphia Flyers' Claude Giroux (28) and Jakub Voracek (93), of the Czech Republic, celebrate after Giroux's goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Friday, March 28, 2014, in Philadelphia. Philadelphia won 4-2. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA — A day after holding their own in a prolonged shootout with the hottest team in the league, and amid a brutal schedule stretch that actually is turning out to be not that brutal after all, the Flyers have yet another tough challenge on the road Tuesday in St. Louis against a Blues team that promises to be in a nasty mood.

Of course, that’s only good news for these Flyers.

“We played some really good teams down the stretch and I think we’ve played some good hockey against them,” Flyers coach Craig Berube said Monday. “That’s a good thing for your hockey team. It shows how hard you have to compete, how hard of a game it’s going to be playing against these top teams.”

After logging 52 shots against the rocketing Boston Bruins Sunday in what became a 4-3 shootout loss, the Flyers took their point in the standings and sat back to enjoy a new perspective. Though the New York Rangers (42-30-4, 88 points) are still a step ahead of the Flyers (39-27-8—86) in the Metropolitan Division, the Rangers have played twice more. And while the Columbus Blue Jackets (38-30-6—82) are still looming within reach, the Flyers can all-but relegate them to likely wild-card status with a victory over the Jackets Thursday at Wells Fargo Center.

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That said, the Flyers are only four points up on the Blue Jackets, who occupy the second and final wild-card spot behind Detroit (84 points).

“It’s not over ’til it’s over,” said Vinny Lecavalier, who bailed out a point for the Flyers Sunday by scoring a tying goal against the Bruins with 24 seconds left in regulation. “We believe we’re in a great position right now with eight games left. If you’d look at the first 10 games (of the season), we would take where we’re at right now. This is a good position to be in. But you have to control what you can do, not worry about the teams that you’re not playing.”

Either way, though, it appears more likely by the day that the Flyers and Rangers will head through these final two weeks essentially battling it out for home-ice advantage in a 2-3 Metro matchup between them in the first round of the playoffs.

Of course, no one wants to get too far ahead of themselves.

“The race is pretty close,” Claude Giroux said. “It’s hard not to look at the standings. Every night you’ve got to look at it and see the Rangers and Columbus and all these teams keep winning.”

For most of the year in the Western Conference it was the Blues that were winning seemingly without problem. They roared out as the league leader in standings points, then were blitzed by the Flyers, 4-1, March 22. No biggie — they’ve won three of four since and are posted at 50-17-7, three points behind the Bruins in the best-of-show race.

The Flyers, who have been remarkably healthy this season, will be at a bit of a disadvantage for the game since Kimmo Timonen did not make the trip to St. Louis due to an upper body injury. And as for other trends...the Blues lost their most recent game Saturday night.

“Maybe they’ll be a little (peeved) off and want to play hard for their fans,” Giroux said. “It’s going to be a tough game for us to win. We have to make sure we play as a team, and if we do play as a team we have to make sure we give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Though the one-game-at-time approach doesn’t call for discussion about playoff opponents with eight games left in the regular season, all indications are the Flyers and Rangers are headed for a first-round clash that sparked a 10-year-old memory for Lecavalier.

“I look back at my experiences with the Stanley Cup run,” Lecavalier said, recalling his old Tampa Bay club’s championship drive of 2004. “Playing the Flyers in Game 7 (of the Eastern Conference finals) at home, playing Calgary in Game 7 (of the Stanley Cup finals) at home. So I think (home ice) helps. That’s not always the case, but sometimes it gets to that, and when you get to that last game it gives you a little push.

“Playing in your home building, you’re comfortable, and that could make a difference.”

NOTES: The Flyers are going to be without top defender Timonen, who was hit in the chin area with a puck during the Sunday shootout loss to the Bruins. No other details were provided on his injury. Timonen will be replaced by Erik Gustafsson...Steve Downie has missed four straight games but practiced again Monday after admitting he’d passed a baseline test that morning. So he is recovering from a concussion, but one apparently exacerbated by whiplash. “It was a pretty weird shot there to the neck,” said Downie, who had his head down when he ran face-first into the rear shoulder pads of St. Louis’ Patrick Berglund. “(It was) an awkward position, so I’ve had some neck issues and stuff. But it’s all cleared up for now. I’m healthy. It comes down to getting the legs back and getting the timing back.”